This is a very simple Mother’s Day card to make that is guaranteed to get a big smile from Mom.  My daughter brought a card similar to this one home when she was two and I still keep it in my scrapbook.

In fact, I liked it so much that I made a template for it!

You’ll Need:

• 2 sheets of construction paper
• a pencil
• glue stick
• scissors.

What to Do:

1.  Trace each of the child’s hands onto one of the sheets of construction paper.

2.  Cut out the hands.

3.  Fold the second sheet of construction paper in half like a card.  On the outside of the card write, “Guess How Much I Love You…”

4.  Glue each of the hands to the inside of the card so that they are facing out.

5.  Between the hands write, “I Love You This Much!”  Happy Mother’s Day!

Here’s the template for the card so all you have to do is cut out the hands, print out both sides of the template, color and put together.

These are really cute when they’re done!

Send me a picture when you make it and I’ll post it here for others!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Mothers Day Card – Guess How Much I Love You?

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What would Easter be without at least one toilet paper tube craft? This one is really easy… I’ve even included templates for the bunny parts to make it super simple.

What You’ll Need:

• Toilet Paper Tube
• White Construction Paper
• Pink Construction Paper
• 2 Wiggle Eyes
• Cottonball
• Black Marker
• Glue
• Scissors

What to Do:

1. Cover the toilet paper tube with white construction paper.

2. Cut the outer ears, paws, and front legs out of white construction paper. Cut the inner ears out of pink construction paper.

3. Assemble the bunny by looking at the picture above and glue on all the bunny parts shown.

4. Glue on the wiggle eyes. Cut a small triangle out of pink construction paper and glue it on for a nose. Draw on the buck teeth, cheeks, and whiskers.

5. Glue on his cottonball tail.

It doesn’t get any easier!

Bunny Parts Template

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Tissue Tube Easter Bunny

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There are lots of easy and fun science experiments that you can do involving eggs. Even younger kids will get a kick out of some of them, although they won’t understand the “science” behind the trick. Here’s a few I’ve come up with.

Egg Etching

Most children decorate eggs for Easter, but here’s a way to get in a little science experiment with your decorating.  Is it possible to actually etch an egg without breaking it?

What You’ll Need:

• Hard Boiled Egg
• Crayons
• Widemouth Jar
• White Vinegar

What to Do:

1. Draw on your egg with the crayons. You create designs, write words, or even just scribble. The color of the crayons doesn’t matter. Be very careful not to crack the egg when you are writing on it.

2. Put the egg into the widemouth jar and cover it with white vinegar.

3. Let the egg stand in the vinegar for two hours and then pour out the vinegar and replace it with fresh vinegar.

4. Let the egg stand in the fresh vinegar for another two hours, then take it out of the jar. Wash the egg and remove all the crayon markes. This will create an etched egg shell.

Why This Works

The crayon acts as a protective barrier to the vinegar. The acid in the vinegar dissolves much of the calcium carbonate of the eggshell. The wax in the crayons protects the parts of the shell that you wrote on and keeps it from dissolving.

Egg In A Bottle

Kids never cease to be amazed by this little trick, no matter how many times you show it to them.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 Hard Boiled Egg Peeled
• Boiling Water
• A Bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg

The Experiment:

1. Set the egg on the neck of the bottle to demonstrate that the egg simply won’t fit in the bottle. Tell the child that you know a trick to make that egg go down into the bottle without breaking it.

2. Remove the egg from the bottle and pour the boiling water into the bottle. Carefully roll the water around in the bottle and then pour it out.

3. Quickly put the egg back on the neck of the bottle, while the bottle is still hot, and wait for it to get sucked down into the bottle.

The Explanation:

When you put the hot water into the bottle and then poured it out, the hot water left steam behind in the bottle. The steam forces out some of the air that was already in the bottle. As the steam in the bottle cools down, it converts into tiny droplets of water. The drops of water require less space and this reduces the amount of air pressure in the bottle. The pressure on the outside of the bottle is greater than the pressure on the inside of the bottle and that is what forces the egg into the bottle.

Removing The Egg From The Bottle

You can remove the egg from the bottle using the same process in reverse. Hold the bottle upside down and blow into the bottle for about 30 seconds. Be sure to seal your lips around the mouth of the bottle when you do this. By blowing into the bottle, you will increase the pressure on the inside of the bottle and force the egg out.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Easy Egg Experiments For Easter Science – Part 1

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I think this is a really cute Wee Leprechaun St. Patrick’s Day craft using toilet tissue tubes, craft foam and pipe cleaners.

You could also do this one with construction paper instead of foam… especially if you want to make it easier for younger kids and more cost effective. I also think you could maybe use something else for the beard… like paper spirals or tissue paper maybe?

The end result of this craft looks so sophisticated that even older kids will enjoy making it!  There’s even a video to show you how to make it!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Wee Leprechaun St. Patrick’s Day Craft

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This cute little necklace is always a big hit with younger children. My own little ham, who was two when I took this picture, wouldn’t hardly taken it off after she made it… Except when she ate dinner.  She liked it so much that she didn’t want to get any food on it. If that’s not an endorsement from a two year old, then I don’t know what is!

What You’ll Need:

• Foam heart shapes (cut them out yourself or puchase pre-cut hearts)
• Drinking straws (2 or 3)
• Yarn
• Scissors
• Hole punch

What to Do:

1. Punch a hole in the middle of each heart. Once you have your hearts ready, cut the drinking straws into one inch lengths. The straw pieces and the hearts will be the “beads” of your necklace.

Note: If you’re cutting our your own foam hearts, you’ll need a bunch of them measuring about 1-2 inches across. If you’re buying them, don’t get the ones with the adhesive backing. A tub of hearts is inexpensive and you can pick them up at your local craft store.

2. Cut a piece of yarn long enough to make a necklace for your child that will easily go over their head. Put a loose knot is one end to keep the “beads” from falling off.

Note: If you child is very young, wrap a piece of tape around the other end of the yarn to make it easier to thread the beads on the yarn. Kids who are a little older will have no problem.

3. Thread the hearts and pieces of straw onto the yarn in an alternating fashion… one heart, one straw, one heart, etc. until you’ve put as many beads on your necklace as you want.

4. To tie off the necklace so that the knot won’t come out, put both ends together and loop them into a knot. Don’t forget to un-tie the loose know from step 2 and cut off the tape on the end if you used it.

That’s it!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Valentine Necklace Craft

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Now that we’re in February, I guess it’s time to start posting Valentine’s Day crafts… I can’t believe how fast the time is flying by!

These little stuffed Valentine hearts are a great project for children of all ages, including scouts and elementary classrooms because you can choose to make them as simple or as complex as you want.  Plus they are REALLY inexpensive to make.  You may have seen this one here before, but they’re such a great craft that I had to post it again… Did I mention that they’re just plain fun too?!?

What You’ll Need:

• Lunch sized paper bag
• Newspaper
• Red acrylic paint
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Paint brush

What to Do:

1. Cut out two identical hearts from the paper bag.

The way we did it was to cut the bottom of the bag off, and then cut down one side to make a large sheet. Then we cut the paper in half, put the two halves together and folded them in half. This way we could cut two identical hearts at the same time by cutting a half heart on the fold.

2. Put the two hearts together and staple all the way around them, leaving a three inch (more or less) space open on one side. This will make a little pocket.

The staples should line up close together about a quarter of an inch from the edge of the paper. This doesn’t have to be exact, but it looks better when it’s pretty uniform.

3. Crumple up pieces of newspaper and put them through the hole you left in the staples. Do this until the heart is as stuffed as you want it to be. When you’re satisfied, staple the hole closed.

4. Paint both sides of your stuffed heart with red acrylic paint. You may want to paint one side, let it dry, then paint the other to make it less messy.

Variations:

There are a lot of things you can do to this basic craft to make it more pretty or useful…

• Write a love note on it and present it to your special Valentine.
• Dip your hand in white paint and stamp your handprint on the heart.
• Decorate the heart with other objects like buttons, beads, glitter, gems, paper, etc.
• Staple in a piece of yarn when you’re joining the two hearts to make a hanger.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Stuffed Valentine Hearts Craft

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This easy bead Christmas wreath ornament craft is really easy to make for children of all ages to create. It makes a great project for small groups like scouting or classrooms too.

One of these little wreaths would also look great tied onto a gift!

What You’ll Need:

• A 12 inch white pipe cleaner
• 35 green tri-beads
• 7 red tri-beads

What to Do:

1. Feed 5 green beads onto the pipe cleaner, then feed on one red bead. The beads should interlock over each other.  Keep alternating the beads until you have them all on the pipe cleaner.

2. Move all the beads so that they are in the middle of the pipe cleaner and there are equal lengths of pipe cleaner at both ends.

3. Bend the beaded pipe cleaner into a circle and twist the two ends together to make a circle. Use the remaining ends of the pipe cleaner to make a bow.

When you get ready to hang the ornament on the tree, you can use a wire ornament hanger and hook it through the top of the ornament where the pipe cleaners are tied. You can also tie a piece of thread around the ornament to make a hanger.

Don’t forget about our Little Kid Christmas Crafts book!  It’s only available for a limited time!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Easy Bead Christmas Wreath Ornament Craft

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It just wouldn’t be crafting if we didn’t make something out of a recycled toilet paper cardboard tube.

This craft can be adapted to make just about anything including: Santa, Mrs. Claus, Reindeer, Snowmen, Elves, Angels, etc. In addition, you don’t just have to use toilet paper tubes. You can also use paper towel rolls and wrapping paper rolls.

You’ll Need:

• Recycled toilet paper tube
• Construction paper (red, white, pink, and black)
• Markers or cryaons
• Glue (or gluestick)
• Cotton balls
• Wiggle eyes (optional)

What to Do:

1. Wrap a cardboard tube with a 4 x 2 inch sheet of red paper and glue in place.

2. To make the face, use a 3 inch wide circle of pink paper and glue in place.

3. Cut a 4 inch wide half circle and roll it into a cone. Glue in place. Glue the cone on top of the tube to make Santa’s hat.

4. Cut a thin black strip of paper that is long enough to go around the tube. Glue it in the middle of the tube to make Santa’s belt.

5. Use the markers or crayons to make Santa’s facial features. You can use the optional wiggle eyes if desired.

6. Tear apart cotton balls and glue onto the tube to make the beard and hatband. Make a small ball of cotton and glue it to the point of the hat.

My kids are absolutely crazy about these things!  We have to make new ones each year.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Tissue Tube Santa Craft

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The paper plate wreath has probably been around just about as long as the paper plate itself, but what Christmas craft season would be complete if we didn’t do at least one paper plate wreath?

So here are a couple of ideas you might like to try this year!

Tissue Paper Plate Wreath

What You’ll Need:

• Cheap Paper Plate
• Green Tissue Paper
• Red Tissue Paper
• A Piece of Ribbon or String For Hanging
• Scissors
• Hole Punch
• White Glue

What To Do:

1.  Cut a hole in the center of the paper plate so that you have a ring that is about three inches wide.

2.  Cut your tissue paper (or tear it for a different effect) into 2 inch squares.

3.  Crumple each square up slightly and glue the center onto the plate. Fill the plate in with the green pieces, then go back and add red pieces randomly to make berries.

4.  Punch a hole in the top and thread the ribbon through to hang the wreath. You can embellish this project with a bow, glitter, etc.   You make this craft as fancy or as easy as you want and it’s suitable for kids of all ages!

Variation on the Tissue Paper Wreath

The tissue paper Christmas wreath above probably won’t work well with the youngest kids, but there is a variation that seems to work much better.

All you have to do is leave the tissue paper flat and glue the squares onto the paper plate, rather than crunching them up.  The project will go much faster this way and younger kids understand what they’re supposed to do better when you do it this way.

Plus it still makes a pretty wreath.

Evergreen Paper Plate Wreath

What You’ll Need:

• Cheap Paper Plate
• Cheap Evergreen Garland (Dollar Store Type)
• Red Pom Poms
• Glue (Hot glue or white glue)
• Stapler
• Ribbon

What To Do:

1.  Cut a hole in the center of the paper plate so that you have a ring that is about three inches wide.

2.  Cut a piece of the garland that’s long enough to go all the way around the surface of the paper plate… probably about 18-24 inches depending on the size of the plate.

3.  Staple the garland to the plate, making sure the place the staples on the center cord of the garland.  You’ll need to staple it every four inches or so all the way around the wreath, then fluff it up so that you can’t see the staples.

4.  Glue red pom poms onto the wreath using either white glue or hot glue (adults only).

5.  Tie a ribbon into a bow and glue it onto the wreath.

6.  If you want to hang your wreath, punch a hole in the top and use a string or simply tie a string around the wreath.

This is the wreath pictured and would work well for older kids, scouts, etc.  If you don’t want to use staples, you could always hot glue the garland onto the paper plate, but most kids shouldn’t use a hot glue gun on their own.

I hope you enjoy the wreaths!

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Paper Plate Wreath Ideas

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This is a fun way to keep track of the days until Christmas, especially for younger kids.  It’s also a good way to get in a little counting practice if you make them count the days off each day.

But don’t think it’s limited to younger kids — This is a big deal at our house where we make a big production of tearing off the next ring after dinner each night.  The kids absolutely love it!

What You’ll Need:

• The template below printed on yellow construction paper
• Red construction paper
• Green construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Crayons (optional)

What to Do:

1.  Cut 13 strips of red construction paper that are about 1 inch wide and 8 inches long. Cut 12 strips of green paper with the same dimensions.

2.  Print out the bell pattern below on yellow construction paper. Color with crayons if desired and cut out. (You could also decorate the bell with glitter, sequins, markers, etc. if you want.)

3.  Roll one of the red strips of paper into a loop and staple it onto the bottom of the bell. Loop a green strip of paper through the red loop to get the chain started. Continue to alternate the red and green strips of paper to make a chain that has 25 links in it.

4.  Hang the bell and chain up in a prominent place and tear off one link at the end of each day until Christmas.

Post from: KidCraftsMagazine.com

Countdown to Christmas Bell

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